It didn't take long for Verizon to follow AT&T into the virtualized network services market, launching its own offering just days after the fellow telecommunications giant introduced a similar service.

Current Analysis published new research on network functions virtualization -- "the most important transformation that the network industry has undertaken in its history" -- that names Netcracker Technology as the "leader" in NFV Management and Orchestration.

AT&T will open source the homegrown software platform powering its software-centric network that leverages SDN and NFV in the hope it will mature the fledgling technologies and become an industry standard.

Glue Networks upgraded its software-defined networking orchestration platform, designed for organizations wishing to automate entire, existing multi-vendor networking architectures, from the datacenter to the LAN to the WAN.

Big Switch Networks updated its software-defined networking solutions with new use cases and support for more open networking switches, along with other enhancements to help enterprises transform their networks with next-generation technology.

Juniper Networks today announced an expansion of its OpenLab program, with new locations where enterprises can explore new network virtualization technologies such as software-defined networking and network functions virtualization.